Photos: East Sussex Woman in ‘Dead Ostrich’ Protest Against Exotic Skins in Fashion

For Immediate Release:

31 March 2016

Contact:

Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 235; [email protected]

PHOTOS: EAST SUSSEX WOMAN IN ‘DEAD OSTRICH’ PROTEST AGAINST EXOTIC SKINS IN FASHION

New PETA Exposé Reveals Young Ostriches Shocked, Smacked, Killed, Plucked and Skinned for Hermès and Prada Bags

Selmeston, East Sussex – Carrying an oversized sign resembling an ostrich handbag, 24-year-old Charly Keats of Selmeston took part in a PETA protest today. Keats stood in front of Hermès’ boutique on London’s New Bond Street to speak out against the use of exotic skins for fashion accessories.

Photos from the event are available here, here and here. Video available here.

The action comes on the heels of PETA’s release of the first-ever exposé of the highly secretive industrial ostrich-slaughter industry, where young ostriches are kept in barren dirt feedlots until they are trucked to abattoirs. The 1-year-old birds are then turned upside down in a stunner before having their throats slit and their feathers plucked out – creating the bumpy-textured or “goose bump” skin used in Birkin and Prada bags and other “luxury” goods.

“Anyone who buys a bumpy Birkin bag or pockmarked Prada purse is responsible for the shocking, slaughtering, plucking and skinning of a smart, sensitive and curious young ostrich”, says Keats. “With so many high-end and stylish cruelty-free accessories available, we are calling on shoppers to ditch the animal skins and shop vegan.”

Keats and PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – are calling on Hermès, Prada and all other retailers to drop ostrich and other exotic skins.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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